Heritage Open Days 2026: Description of the heritage sites
Küchwald open-air theatre
Küchwaldring 34
The open-air theatre in Küchwald was built between 1956 and 1963 on the ruins of the war-damaged “Küchwaldschänke”, as part of the National Reconstruction Programme (NAW), based on plans drawn up in 1954 by the Chemnitz architect Roland Hühnerfürst. With its complex of buildings, featuring a striking tower and a grand open staircase, it occupies a prominent position on the large festival grounds. The complex is in keeping with the traditional post-war architecture, characterised by neoclassical features.
Organiser: Küchwaldbühne e. V.
10.00 am and 11.00 am
Guided tour of the Küchwaldbühne followed by a film screening
Kaßberg prison as a place of learning and remembrance
Kaßbergstraße 16c
The political history of the former Kaßberg Prison stretches from its origins as a general penal institution, through its use as a prison for predominantly political prisoners during the Nazi era, to its role as a detention centre run by the occupying powers and, later, by the Ministry for State Security of the GDR. In 1875, construction work began on the building complex for the new Royal Saxon Prison in Chemnitz-Kaßberg under the supervision of Chief Provincial Architect Nauck. The building complex came into use in 1878.
Organiser: Kaßberg Prison Learning and Memorial Centre e.V.
Open from 10 am to 5 pm (free of charge)
11.00 am
Guided tour on the theme: The dual history of dictatorship at this former political prison, the ransoming of prisoners from the GDR, and the memorial’s conceptual design.
Admission charged
2.00 pm
Architect-led tour with Marc Rennfleisch (rennfleisch ARCHITEKTEN) – from the vacant former Prison Block B to the new learning centre
Subject to a fee
4.15 pm
Guided tour focusing on imprisonment under National Socialism, in cooperation with “Unantastbar Mensch”. This tour, organised by the Lern- und Gedenkort Kaßberg-Gefängnis e. V. association, is the second stop on the tour starting earlier at 2.30 pm at the ‘Grey Buses’ memorial organised by the SFZ Support Centre.
Subject to a fee
Chemnitz Valley Viaduct railway arch
Beckerstrasse/Annaberger Strasse
Following the completion of construction work on the Chemnitz Viaduct in recent years, the public space at the viaduct was landscaped last year. Viadukt e. V. is providing information about its work through an exhibition and an information stand.
Organiser: Viadukt e. V.
Saxon Motor Vehicle Museum
Park of the OdF 2
The multi-storey car park and motel building was constructed in 1928 as one of Germany’s first multi-storey car parks built using modern reinforced concrete construction methods. In response to growing parking problems, it offered rental spaces for around 300 cars and motorbikes across six storeys. Vehicles were transported to their parking spaces by lift. In addition to a petrol station, the site also housed a repair workshop, a battery and tyre service, and car wash facilities on every floor. The car park was open round the clock.
Organiser: Museum für Sächsische Fahrzeuge Chemnitz e. V.
11.00 am – 12.30 pm
Talk on the history and construction of the historic multi-storey car park with Karin Meisel, tour guide
Bookings by telephone on 0371 2601196, or by email at post(at)fahrzeugmuseum-chemnitz.de
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Mill
Limbacher Street 380
It is a residential and mill building, constructed in 1893–94, featuring historic milling machinery. The site of the Rottluffer Obermühle has been documented as early as 1548. Beyond its value in terms of local and technological history, the building is significant as the childhood home of one of the leading artists of German Expressionism. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff spent his childhood and youth here. The property has now been largely renovated, and the historic milling machinery was successfully put back into operation this year.
Organiser: Förderverein Karl Schmidt-Rottluff e. V.
11.00 am – 4.00 pm
Guided tours of the property with members of the Förderverein
‘Blue House’
323 Limbacher Straße
This rural house and stable complex, built around 1800, is situated in the former village of Rottluff, a district of Chemnitz that still retains a very village-like character today. The house was built during the early stages of industrial development in Rottluff. Given its size and grandeur, it can be assumed that this was the home of a middle-class citizen.
Organiser: The Oehlschläger family
1.00 pm and 2.00 pm
Guided tours for a maximum of 15 people
Bookings by telephone on 0371 488-6352, or by email at carina.berger(at)stadt-chemnitz.de
Former Municipal Mental Hospital
178 Dresdner Straße
Houses 2 and 4 were built between 1903 and 1905 as the first buildings of the former Hilbersdorf Municipal Mental Hospital, which opened on 11 April 1905. Based on plans by the city’s director of urban planning, Richard Möbius, the first extension, comprising the large ballroom, followed in 1909–10. Between 1928 and 1931, what are now Buildings 8 and 9 were constructed in the New Objectivity style. All the buildings belonging to the clinic are situated within a spacious, listed park with landscaped open spaces and avenues.
Organiser: Klinikum Chemnitz gGmbH
1.00 pm
Lecture in the ballroom followed by a guided tour of the grounds
Meeting point: 12.30 pm at the main entrance
Max. 30 people
To register, please call 0371 333-41551 or email anika.kluger(at)skc.de
Otto Uhle Glove Factory
Neukirchner Street 9
Having evolved through various political eras, the glove factory stands as a testament not only to the history of architecture but also to local and industrial history. Particularly noteworthy are the manufacturer’s residence with its surrounding garden and the factory building, constructed in the early 1930s; as examples of Modernist architecture, they stand out from the other buildings in terms of design and possess particular architectural and historical value.
Organiser: Friends of the Otto Uhle Glove Factory VEB Polar Strickkunst Chemnitz e. V.
11.00 am to 4.00 pm
Open Day, visit the exhibitions
11.00 am and 12.30 pm
Guided tours
10.00 am, 12.30 pm and 3.00 pm
Workshops for children (crochet / knitting / sewing)
Cost: 5 euros per course and participant
Bookings for guided tours and workshops at post(at)handschuhfabrik.de
moreCastle Hill Museum
Schloßberg 12
The building was originally a former Benedictine monastery, which was converted into a Saxon administrative palace in the 16th century. The monastery building now houses the Schloßberg Museum. The cloister building and remains of the cloister have been preserved from the original structure. St Mary’s Church, which originally belonged to the monastery and later became the castle church, has also been preserved.
Organiser: Chemnitz Art Collections, Schloßberg Museum
2.00 pm
“Traces of Stone – Relics from Chemnitz’s Monasteries and Cemeteries”
Book by calling 0371 488-4501 or emailing schlossbergmuseum(at)stadt-chemnitz.de
Former ‘Royal Saxon State Educational Institution for the Blind and Mentally Disabled’
8c Flemmingstraße
Built around the middle of the 19th century, this simple, semi-open residential building is one of Chemnitz's rare examples of 19th-century low-rise suburban housing. The outbuildings, with an open shed, workshop and courtyard paving, are also protected. The historical advertising on the façade still provides information about the commercial use of the building in the past and is a rarity in Chemnitz.
Organiser: Eileen and Dirk Fellendorf
11.00, 12.30, 14.00 and 15.30 hrs
Guided tours
maximum 15 people
Pre-registration at: architektur(at)fellendorf.gmbh
Bridge management
The bridge tour, led by tour guide Grit Linke, starts at the Pfortensteg and heads towards the Kaßbergauffahrt/Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff Bridge, ending at the Bierbrücke.
Organiser: Grit Linke, tour guide
2.00 pm
Meeting point: Pfortensteg
Churches and cemeteries open on Open Monument Day
Evangelical Methodist Peace Church, 30 Kaßbergstraße
The Evangelical Methodist Peace Church was built in 1893–94 in the Neo-Gothic style as a brick building to plans by the architect Carl Bieber. The church has been almost entirely preserved in its original form and is a defining feature of the ‘Kaßberg’ residential area, which dates from the Gründerzeit period.
11.00 and 12.00
Guided tours of the church
St Jakobi City Church, Jakobikirchplatz 1
St Jakobi Town and Market Church is situated on one of the oldest church sites in Chemnitz and served as the city’s spiritual and social centre for centuries. Situated in the immediate vicinity of the two town halls – one from the Middle Ages and the other from the early 20th century – and sharing a common tower which serves as a bell tower, this sacred building remains part of a significant urban ensemble to this day.
12.00 – 17.00
Open Church
1.00 pm
Church tour
3.00 pm
Discovery Tour: Guided tour of the church for children and families
Ebersdorf Collegiate Church, Lichtenauer Str. 56
The Ebersdorf Collegiate Church, together with St Mary’s Chapel, the two defensive towers and the remains of the fortified churchyard, forms a Late Gothic ensemble. The church gained widespread significance as a Marian pilgrimage site from the mid-15th century onwards. The complex is of particular urban significance due to its central position within the village landscape of Ebersdorf. For several years now, the collegiate church’s natural stone façade has been undergoing restoration in sections, in accordance with conservation guidelines.
2.00 pm
Altar Restoration 2025 – Stories from and featuring the restorer
St Jodokus Church, Glösa, Kirchberg 2
The church on Glösa's "Eierberg", first documented in 1269, was later joined by a vicarage with a rectory and a church school. A defence wall with two towers served to fortify and defend the ensemble on the hilltop.
After the church was partially destroyed by bombing on 5 March 1945, it was rebuilt according to plans by the architects Gerlach and Dr Laudeley. The rebuilt choir tower church was re-consecrated in 1954. The rectory, which was also the retirement home of Abbot Heinrich von Schleinitz of the Chemnitz Benedictine monastery from 1522, still contains a number of architecturally significant spolia.
1.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Open Church
4.00 pm
Performance: Dance scenes – ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’
Ukrainian refugee children from the Kreativ Initiative’s children’s theatre have created dance scenes to accompany the current exhibition
Nikolai Cemetery, Michaelstraße 15
The Nikolai cemetery was consecrated in 1815. The regular, rectangular-shaped cemetery is characterised by its park-like tree planting and the numerous, attractively designed graves.
15.00 hrs
Thematic guided tours of the cemetery
St Nikolai Church, Michaelstraße 15
The building was originally constructed in 1891–92 as a cemetery chapel in the Neo-Gothic style, based on plans by Christian Schramm. As the church of St Nicholas’s parish had to be demolished after 1945, this chapel has served as a place of worship ever since.
5.00 pm
Concert
‘Claire de lune’ with the Chemnitz-based Trio Mirabilis (flute, viola, harp)